The re-structuring of the Intermediate Championship has certainly strengthened the competition and has made it the hardest of the three championships to call.

Indeed, all eight sides will enter the competition with hopes of going on to lift the silverware and on their day any of teams can beat any of the other seven which makes it an intriguing championship.

Belcoo and Teemore have contested the final of the senior championship in the last two years, both sides losing to Roslea while Lisnaskea were in the final the previous year when they were beaten by Tempo which shows the strength of the competition this year.

Jimmy McGrath’s Belcoo outfit are the highest placed league team in the championship and they will likely begin as the favourites to be crowned champions although they could not have asked for a tougher opening game than against Maguiresbridge.

McGrath can call on the bulk of the side who pushed Roslea all the way a couple of years ago with the likes of Ciaran Flaherty, Brian Cox, Paul McGrath, Johnny Feeley, and Niall Leonard all key players.

They will come up against a Maguiresbridge side though who will be keen to make up for the disappointment of losing last year’s Intermediate final when they went down to Derrylin. Colm Courtney’s side have made great strides in recent years and although they have found life tough in Division One they have quality performers in the shape of the Corrigan brothers, Ciaran and Sean, Matthew Teague, Daniel Teague and Ryan Hyde.

Teemore will be eager to make a swift return to the senior championship and are traditionally strong performers in the championship. Sean Donnelly led the Shamrocks to the senior title in 2005 and is back at the helm this year as they look to win the Intermediate. Teemore’s league form has been good as they close in on promotion back to Division One although they were beaten last Sunday by Newtownbutler. Donnelly has a good blend of youth and experience to call on with the likes of Barry Owens and Hugh Brady providing the leadership for young guns Eoin McManus and Cian McManus.

They too though will not have things all their own way with Lisnaskea eyeing a run in the Intermediate Championship. Peter Clarke has returned as manager of his home club and his last stint with the Emmetts resulted in an All Ireland Intermediate title for the club.

Clarke is going to need a big performance from his players if they are to progress but in the likes of Daniel Kille, Johnny Woods and Niall McElroy they have players who know what it takes to win a championship.

Irvinestown and Newtownbutler is another that has the look of a tight battle. Only one point separates the sides in Division Two with both teams pushing hard for promotion and the two of them will be keen to put a run together in the championship.

The St. Molaise have some good young players in their ranks in the likes of Ronan Ormsby, Liam Murphy and James Duffy and they seem to moving in the right direction under the stewardship of Shane Goan and Paul Courtney.

However, they will come up against an experienced outfit in Newtownbutler with many of the First Fermanagh players having tasted New York Cup success with the club back in 2007. Manager Declan McKiernan will need to get the best out of Brendan McBrien, James Connolly and the rest if they are to become Intermediate champions in 2015 and they will enter the championship with added confidence after beating Division Two table toppers Teemore last week.

And that leaves us with Enniskillen and Kinawley.

Enniskillen are coming into the competition in good form and they are beginning to see the fruits of success at underage level as it feeds into their senior side. County men Ryan McCluskey and Richard O’Callaghan will obviously remain key men for Warren Dixon but he has also got a lot of young players to call on with Paddy Reihill, Michael Dooris and Conor Watson having all caught the eye. And if Conor McAleer can display his top form in attack then they will be a dangerous side.

For Iggy Gallagher’s Kinawley, it has been a league to forget as they failed to make the top five in Division Two, consigning them to Division 2B. However, Gallagher has been unable to get his strongest side out on the pitch but he will hope to have everybody available next Friday night.

Tomas and Ruairi Corrigan both had outstanding season’s in the county colours and they are obvious dangermen but they also have young players like Sean McManus and James Allen who made their mark in Pete McGrath’s squad this year while experienced duo Niall Bogue and Shaun Doherty are still consistent performers. If they can put their league woes behind them and get their best players on the pitch together, Gallagher will be hoping that they can be serious challengers in the most competitive and open Intermediate Championship in many years.